Luxury chocolate company Hotel Chocolat has opened its latest store, featuring its Velvetiser Café, at the Stroud Leisure Park off the M40 at Banbury.
The café is named after Hotel Chocolat’s Velvetiser, a hot chocolate maker that allows people to create velvety smooth drinks at home. Hotel Chocolat said the space has been designed as a place to escape and unwind while browsing the range of top-quality chocolates.
Electric vehicle chargepoint operator InstaVolt has a ‘super hub’ at the location and CEO Adrian Keen said: the addition of Hotel Chocolat’s store and café will make the stop for recharging an even better experience. “Our philosophy at InstaVolt is to create hubs where people can stop and recharge their EVs while at the same time relax and recharge themselves,” he explained.
InstaVolt’s Banbury super hub is just two minutes off junction 11 of the M40 and hosts 32 chargers, capable of speeds up to 150kW. As well as the new Hotel Chocolat there is a Costa Coffee, a Miller and Carter restaurant and a Premier Inn.
With plans to install 10,000 rapid chargers by 2030, InstaVolt currently has more than 1,380 chargers across the country and says it is installing at a faster rate than any other charge point operator.